Description: East Antarctica formed by amalgamation of a number of cratons along distinct Ediacaran mobile belts. They include the ca. 600-500 Ma old East African-Antarctic Orogen (EAAO) and the Kuunga Orogen, which seem to converge in the region of Dronning Maud Land. In central Dronning Maud Land, the major Forster Magnetic Anomaly separates rocks with Grenville-age protolith ages (ca. 1130-1000 Ma) to the West from rocks with Early Neoproterozic protolith ages (ca. 1000-930 Ma) to the East. The Forster Magnetic Anomaly is therefore interpreted as a suture between these two provinces. New field work during three recent international expeditions, Geodynamic Evolution of East Antarctica (GEA) I to III, and first geoscientific results reveal a complex tectonic architecture between central Dronning Maud Land and Sør Rondane in eastern Dronning Maud Land. East of the Forster Magnetic Anomaly, the magnetic anomaly pattern changes significantly and typical Maud-type crust is apparently lacking. Particularly, the GEA II campaign targeted a range of previously unvisited nunataks between Sør Rondane and central Dronning Maud Land (from Blåklettane and Bergekongen in the East to Urna and Sørsteinen in the West). These nunataks are dominated by medium- to high-grade metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks of possibly Neoproterozoic age, including abundant marble and graphite schists. Sør Rondane in eastern Dronning Maud Land, on the other hand, is dominated by two distinct blocks separated by the dextral Main Shear Zone. The northwestern block appears as part of the EAAO or the Kuunga Orogen, where new SHRIMP zircon data from metamorphic rims provide ages of ca. 560 Ma. The southeastern block is made up of a TTG terrane, which provides 12 new zircon crystallization ages ranging from 1000-930 Ma. The TTG terrane has predominantly oceanic affinities and the wide range of ages might indicate long-lasting accretionary tectonics. The TTG terrane shows in part limited tectonic overprint and could be the southeastern foreland of the EAAO or the Kuunga Orogen. Close to the contact of the two blocks, grey gneisses and augen-gneisses gave zircon crystallization ages of ca. 750 Ma. Such ages were previously unknown from the EAAO. The Forster Magnetic Anomaly therefore separates distinctly different parts of the EAAO. These are (i) a reworked, mainly Grenville-age crust to the West representing the overprinted margin of the Kalahari Craton, and (ii) a part of the orogen dominated by Neoproterozoic accretionary tectonics to the East. This difference is also reflected in the geochemistry of voluminous late-tectonics granitoids across the whole belt.

Description: East Antarctica formed by amalgamation of a number of cratons along distinct Ediacaran mobile belts, including the ca. 600-500 Ma East African-Antarctic Orogen (EAAO) and the Kuunga Orogen that apparently converge in Dronning Maud Land (DML). In central DML, the major Forster Magnetic Anomaly separates rocks with Grenville-age protolith ages of ca. 1130-1000 Ma to the W, from rocks with Early Neoproterozic protolith ages, c. 1000-930 Ma, to the East. The Forster Magnetic Anomaly is therefore interpreted as a suture. New field-work during two recent international expeditions, Geodynamic Evolution of East Antarctica (GEA) I + II, and first geoscientic results reveal a complex tectonic architecture between Sør Rondane and central DML. East of the Forster anomaly, the magnetic anomaly pattern changes significantly and typical Maud type crust is not present any longer. GEA II targeted a range of nunataks between Sør Rondane and central DML that had never been visited previously (from Blåklettane and Bergekongen in the E to Urna and Sørsteinen in the W). These nunataks are dominated by medium- to high-grade metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks of possibly Neoproterozoic age, including abundant marble and graphite schists. Sør Rondane in eastern DML, is dominated by two distinct blocks separated by the dextral Main Shear Zone. The northwestern block appears as part of the EAAO or the Kuunga Orogen, where new SHRIMP zircon data from metamorphic rims provide ages of ca. 560 Ma. The southeastern block is made up of a TTG terrane, which provides 12 new zircon crystallistation ages ranging from 1000-930 Ma. The TTG terrane has predominantly oceanic affinities and the wide range of ages might indicate long-lasting accretionary tectonics. The TTG terrane shows in part limited tectonic overprint and could be the southeastern foreland of the EAAO or the Kuunga Orogen. Close to the contact of the two blocks, grey geisses and augen- gneisses gave zircon crystallization ages of ca. 750 Ma, ages which were previously unknown from the EAAO. The Forster anomaly therefore separates distinctly different parts of the EAAO: a) a reworked, mainly Grenville- age crust to the W (the overprinted margin of the Kalahari Craton) and b) a part of the orogen dominated by Neoproterozoic accretionary tectonics to the E. This difference is also reflected in the geochemistry of voluminous late-tectonics granitoids across the belt.

Description: We studied the seasonal dynamics of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi over its distribution range from Skagerrak into the Baltic Proper during 1 yr and related this to ambient physical and biological variables. The appearance of M. leidyi was sporadic in the Baltic Proper, with 60-fold lower abundance than in the Skagerrak and Kattegat (mean 0.02 individual m−3 and 1.16 individual m−3, respectively). M. leidyi typically resided above the halocline (10–20 m depth), except in the Baltic Proper where they were found deeper. Smaller size classes were underrepresented in the Baltic Proper, indicating failed reproduction or high mortality of the younger life stages. Ninety percent of the M. leidyi were observed at salinities of 22–29 and 75% of the individuals in water masses warmer than 11°C, i.e., typical late summer to autumn temperatures. Results of a Generalized Additive Model (GAM) indicate that the spatio-temporal distribution of M. leidyi might be explained by advection of M. leidyi from the Skagerrak and Kattegat area to the Baltic Proper. We conclude that the low salinity (〈 9) of the Baltic Proper is likely to restrict successful reproduction and establishment of M. leidyi and that the advection of individuals from higher saline source areas sustained the observed Baltic Proper occurrence.

Description: Background: Recent studies suggest that lactation has long-term effects on risk for cardiovascular disease in women, but the effects on cardiovascular mortality are less well known.MethodIn a Norwegian population-based prospective cohort study, we studied the association of lifetime duration of lactation with cardiovascular mortality in 21,889 women aged 30 to 85 years who attended the second Nord-Tr[latin small letter o with stroke]ndelag Health Survey (HUNT2) in 1995--1997. The cohort was followed for mortality through 2010 by a linkage with the Cause of Death Registry. Adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for death from all causes and cardiovascular disease were calculated using Cox regression. Results: During follow-up, 1,246 women died from cardiovascular disease. Parous women younger than 65 years who had never lactated had a higher cardiovascular mortality than the reference group of women who had lactated 24 months or more (HR 2.77, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.28, 5.99). There was some evidence of a U-shaped association, where women who reported lactating 7--12 months had a HR of 0.55 (95% CI: 0.27, 1.09). No clear associations were observed among women 65 years or older. Conclusions: Excess cardiovascular mortality rates were observed among parous women younger than 65 years who had never lactated. These findings support the hypothesis that lactation may have long-term influences on maternal cardiovascular health.

Description: Environmental Science & Technology DOI: 10.1021/es500483w

Description: Background: Studies on the health benefits from breastfeeding often rely on maternal recall of breastfeeding. Although short term maternal recall has been found to be quite accurate, less is known about long term accuracy. The objective of this study was to assess the accuracy of long term maternal recall of breastfeeding duration. Methods: In a prospective study of pregnancy and birth outcome, detailed information on breastfeeding during the child's first year of life was collected from a cohort of Norwegian women who gave birth in 1986--88. Among 374 of the participants, data on breastfeeding initiation and duration were compared to recalled data obtained from mailed questionnaires some 20 years later. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman plot, and Kappa statistics were used to assess the agreement between the two sources of data. Logistic regression was used to assess predictors of misreporting breastfeeding duration by more than one month. Results: Recorded and recalled breastfeeding duration was strongly correlated (ICC=0.82, p 〈 0.001). Nearly two thirds of women recalled their breastfeeding to within one month. Recall data showed a modest median overestimation of about 2 weeks. There were no apparent systematic discrepancies between the two sources of information, but recall error was predicted by the age when infants were introduced to another kind of milk. Across categories of breastfeeding, the overall weighted Kappa statistic showed an almost perfect agreement (kappa = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.82 -- 0.88). Conclusion: Breastfeeding duration was recalled quite accurately 20 years after mothers gave birth in a population where breastfeeding is common and its duration long.